MMA Roundup: Jose Aldo, Couture, Teammates Fighting, Lesnar

This time on the Roundup, we’ve got news on Jose Aldo, Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar and more. Also, there’s more controversy regarding training partners fighting one another, along with the latest greasing accusation in MMA.

Aldo as a UFC lightweight?

One of my often-revisited topics here at Fightmania has been what the UFC will eventually end up doing with the WEC. I know that at this time, the specifics of television deals and other business-related crap keeps much from happening, but surely in 15 years, we won’t have the same setup that we have now.

It would seem that, at least in the short-term, rather than bringing Jose Aldo and all the featherweights with him to the UFC, the UFC has been interested in just getting Aldo. That’s right- Aldo was asked about a potential fight with none other than UFC lightweight Kenny Florian, but his management team nixed it because Aldo wouldn’t have time to properly put on the extra weight.

It’s a smart decision, as Aldo may as well defend his featherweight title a couple more times first. He’s a young fighter and won’t stand to gain much in the long run by getting a pay raise in the short-term and losing a fight or two if he isn’t properly prepared. Furthermore, I think it’s best if Aldo moves for good once he does make such a move. Bouncing between divisions hasn’t worked out that well for some fighters, and what can the WEC really offer him once he’s made the jump?

Hey, it will definitely be interesting to see what happens with this in 2011. Will Aldo be seduced by the dark side of the Force? Will the UFC start making plans in the near or distant future to adopt more weight classes, allowing Aldo and other WEC stars to compete at their natural weights? Perhaps more frequent UFC on Versus cards can be used to replace the WEC if additional weight classes or added. After all, more weight classes will just mean more events are needed, too.

Couture finally done?

Randy Couture had some interesting comments to Fighters Only magazine, which I’m sure is read by people who aren’t fighters at least some of the time. Couture said that while he still enjoys the sport, “it’s probably time to move on.”

Right now, Couture is getting ready to start shooting the sequel to “The Expendables” in early 2011, and he says that while “it’s a fickle business”, he would like to continue exploring his options with acting.

If anything, I could see Couture doing something more along the lines of his fight with James Toney: taking interesting fights against non-contenders with big names when his schedule allows. Can Couture really walk away when he thinks he still has something left to give, or will his competitiveness win out?

Dana White sounds off…again…over teammates fighting each other

Carlos Condit mentioned after his impressive knockout win against Dan Hardy that he is willing to face training partner Georges St. Pierre if it comes down to it. Of course, Dana White not only applauded that sentiment, but also used the occasion as an excuse to go on yet another rant on the subject:

“We have problems with that out of the Greg Jackson camp and AKA, it drives me nuts. So it’s refreshing to hear a kid like Carlos Condit say, ‘Love Georges St. Pierre, he is a great guy, but I would love to have his title, I’d fight him.’ I guarantee you George St Pierre respects that too; you think George St Pierre is saying ‘Condit shouldn’t want to fight me because we are from the same camp?’ Hell no.”

Oh, here we go again.

When asked about the specifics of training such as who would get to train in their home gym, what training partners would do, etc. if two camp-mates fought, White dismissed such concerns off as minor details.

I understand that the culture of this sport and how training partners often refuse to fight one another can make White’s job difficult, but for a guy who claims to “get” the sport and its fighters, White sure doesn’t seem to actually get it. It seems as if White’s frequent talk of how he prefers “real fighters” just boils down to how he prefers fighters who do whatever he asks them to do.

Oh, and by the way: Jon Jones said recently that he will never fight teammate Rashad Evans, even if Evans holds the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship for some time. Instead, he says that he would be content in that scenario to be the #2 guy in the division for however long Evans held the strap.

That’s our Brock!

Did you think that Brock Lesnar was done making regular that’s so wrong it’s funny comments now that he’s become a “humble champion”? Oh, silly readers…here’s some evidence to the contrary.

In response to all of the emphasis on challenger Cain Velasquez’s heritage and Velasquez’s own statements regarding wanting to honor his background with a win, Lesnar responded by saying, “When I get done whipping your ass, I’m gonna go drink a Corona and eat a burrito just for your Hispanic heritage, how about that?”

What can you say?

Quick Shots

–Yoshihiro Akiyama is the latest fighter to lob greasing accusations out, this time at Michael Bisping, who he faced at UFC 120. If you’re thinking to yourself, but Akiyama only went for one takedown, that’s precisely correct. Akiyama says that the reason he only tried one takedown was that “Bisping’s body was really slippery.”

–Jose Aldo’s next featherweight title defense in the WEC will likely be Mark Hominick or Josh Grispi, according to several sources. No matter which fighter it would be, the fight would take place at an as-yet unannounced WEC event in January. For Grispi, it would be a pretty short training camp, since he is supposed to fight on November 11th agaisnt Erik Koch. Who knows, though? Perhaps Aldo will be sweet-talked into stepping up to lightweight by then, after all.